


Spider-Man: Senior Prom

by panthershabit



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, BAMF Tony Stark, Bisexual Peter Parker, M/M, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17204870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panthershabit/pseuds/panthershabit
Summary: Peter Parker tries to keep to himself in his last year at Midtown High School, which is easier said than done when he also protects New York City under the alias 'Spider-Man'. During the concluding year, he encounters brand new experiences that he could have never imagined happening to him.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Well...this is it. I sat for a while and plotted the whole story out, hoping to be inspired to extend it and I did. As much as I love Tom Holland as Peter Parker, I always wondered what it would be like if Andrew Garfield’s Peter was in the MCU. A while later I read about Andrew wanting an interracial relationship between a bisexual Peter and a male, gay, black version of Mary Jane with Michael B. Jordan portraying him. Then I became obsessed with what we never got.
> 
> Some notes for this fic, so I apologize if the notes are too long, they’ll also be at the bottom if you’d rather read them after.
> 
> \- In this work, Peter Parker is 17 years old and the events are set in 2015.  
> \- Peter Parker is portrayed by Andrew Garfield, but because both Tom and Peter have brown hair, I guess if you really wanted to, you could imagine Tom in the story instead.  
> \- MJ is portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, but a younger version of him (definitely not like Killmonger either lol), if you want, search/remember his role as Steve Montgomery. MJ is also 17 years old.  
> \- Without spoiling the plot, Peter getting his powers in the prologue and everything explained happens just before he turns 17, as does Uncle Ben’s death. Once the main story begins, he’s 17.  
> \- Every other character apart from Peter, MJ, Flash Thompson, and Aunt May are their MCU iterations. Eddie Brock’s is Topher Grace’s iteration from Spider-Man 3.  
> \- So basically, without being confusing, Peter and MJ are 17, Peter got his powers and lost his Uncle at the age of 17, everyone is played by their MCU actors/actresses apart from Peter, MJ, Aunt May, and Flash and if you don’t like Andrew as Peter just swap him for Holland.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief introduction to Peter Parker.

What a shit year. In fact, this was probably the worst year in the teenager’s life – it would probably be the same for any teenager. The last time Peter Parker went through this level of anguish was when he found out his parents had died in a plane crash but he was young then. It may have left a scar on his life but it could never compare to the guilt he carried after he tried to simply buy some chocolate milk and it all went horribly wrong.   

In the beginning, all he endured was bullying. Sure, it sucked but after a while, it was just something Peter added to his schedule. Morning, skate to school. Lunchtime, face first on the ground, locker or if he was lucky, just a table. Afternoon, it was straight to Delmar’s for sandwiches that made the day much better. But one field trip – okay a secretly orchestrated field trip – and the next day he had these crazy superpowers beyond explanation.   

At first, it was nearly impossible for Peter to settle with his new... _abilities_ , but soon he managed to keep it under control once he tested them a few times. He nearly died but boy, did he have fun doing it. Everything seemed normal until one day he came home later than usual and an argument erupted. Truth be told until he sat under a subway line between the structure, he hadn’t even remembered how he accidentally broke their front door during his walk-out.   

But what he always remembered, and never forgave himself for, was what happened after. In a spur of the moment thing Peter had completely lost track of how much money he had and after an argument with the store clerk, it seemed okay in his head not to intervene when the same store clerk had been robbed. No violence was used and he’d given Peter the milk, but on his walk back a gunshot echoed through the streets and when he ran towards it, Uncle Ben was dead.   

For a while, Peter had contemplated suicide multiple times. All he could do was blame himself for his uncle’s death and every time he reasoned with himself in his head as to why he should not end his life, the memory of what happened flashed back and make him doubt everything. In the end, he knew he could not end his life and it was not because he felt like he deserved to live but because he did not know what Aunt May would do on her own, or how she would cope with another loss. He may have deserved the struggles of coping with a loss but she didn’t.  

Flash had eased up on the bullying while Peter went through his grief, and all Peter wanted was for the stares to stop. It was as if he was a freak of nature for losing his uncle but he deserved everything he got. Or at least he felt like he did. After that, he decided to use his powers for good only – no showing off in front of Flash or using his powers for leisure. He would do what was morally right because he was obligated to. And he would do it for his Uncle Ben.   

Still, it was not all bad. Just most of it. But he did find some form of comfort in swinging across New York regardless of the time it was. Even if he had a mask on and it was night, he could still detect the noise from buildings around him. Watching over the city he vowed to protect in his uncle’s name managed to push a small smile on his face which after a year like he had seemed damn-near impossible. Peter couldn’t wait for what was to come. 


	2. Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tries to live a normal life for the rest of his time at Midtown High School, but today is anything but normal for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you'd like, kudos and feedback are very appreciated :)
> 
> Also, Johnny Storm looks like Lucas Till as Alex Summers in the X-Men movies, just for reference.

Different. That’s exactly how Peter Parker expected things to be when he adjusted to his new superpowers. To be honest, that’s how life was when he first got them – he'd smashed his bathroom sink and almost destroyed the entire house in the space of a week. But he’d also lost one of the most, if not, the most important person in his life the day he learned that arrogance was a loser’s game. But now it was another kind of different, definitely a lot less interesting than what was happening now.  

Due to the fact he had to be responsible with his powers, he chose not to use them as a way of showing off to his peers at high school or even to humiliate Flash Thompson. The exhilarating days of swinging elegantly through the streets of New York were numbered and happened only if he’d waken up too late and had no choice. It was never going to be easy to explain why Peter Parker swung his way home or if Spider-Man was seen going to Midtown High so the secret superhero decided to remain a civilian for the majority of his travels. 

Monday was the hardest for Peter because just like every other teenager at his school the boy spent the entire weekend having fun. Except his fun was not in the form of a party, or gathering, or even homework. Peter’s idea of fun involved wearing a red and blue suit he’d made from parts he bought online and beating up bad guys whenever he could get his eyes on them. A typical Sunday for Peter always ended halfway through Monday morning.  

Every two seconds a long, prolonged beeping noise burst from his alarm clock and now he was so used to having his spider senses that instead of destroying the loud thing he just groaned loudly until his own voice matched the beeping sound. Peter blindly bashed the device with one hand until it finally ceased its noise and groaned again as his hands sunk into his closed eyes to rub them. He didn’t expect a break from being a superhero but he would appreciate a late morning once in a while.  

Sluggishly, Peter pulled himself out of bed and stretched viciously. He thanked God that the prior night had only been a handful of stolen wallets and purses rather than the hectic nights of armed muggings and bike thefts. After his full-effort stretch, he yawned before crouching over and picking up Friday’s clothes to put them back on. He’d spent the time he was given to wash his clothes practicing different combinations of his web shooting. His favorite discovery was the crossed forearms, pushing his right hand first, followed by the second underneath it to form an ‘x’ and pulling them apart to tighten the web and trip the purse thief up. 

Once he threw the raggedy blue shirt on top of his grey, long-sleeved undershirt he barely walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth in the sink that was once broken. Remembering that managed to put a smile on his face and reminded him of how unusual it was when he first got powers. It was not even weird to him anymore that he even had superpowers. After he brushed his teeth, he spat it all out in the sink and looked in the mirror before ruffling his hair in frustration of not finding the ideal look for his hairstyle and brushed it over to one side. 

It didn’t take much for Peter to be ready for school but it meant he was late a less than he used to be. He put a loose blue hoodie on underneath his green jacket and wrapped the prized camera around his neck before grabbing his skateboard and making his way downstairs. His Aunt May heard the footsteps and ran out of the kitchen to stop him from leaving without saying goodbye. Of course, it was also to make sure he had something to eat, she knew he wouldn’t eat if nobody reminded him. 

“Oh wait! Peter!” 

The brown-haired woman caught up with her nephew and stopped him at the door. He turned and leaned down to kiss the shorter woman on her cheek before attempting to say goodbye and she stopped him again. 

“Goodbye Aunt May, I gotta-” 

“Peter, I can’t remember the last time I actually saw you eat...” she started, crossing her arms. When she unfolded them, she handed him a sandwich heavily wrapped in clingfilm and shoved it into his jacket pocket. “Make sure you eat, if you’re going to be skating on that thing at least have your health in check in case of an accident.” 

Peter smiled and gave her a thumbs up before opening the door and walking out to the front. 

“I will, bye Aunt May! Have a good day!” He responded, saying the words louder as he got further. She watched him leave and furrowed her brows to form a frown. 

“Those skateboards...I don’t see the point in them.” 

Peter glanced at the street before plugging his earphones in one at a time. He shuffled his playlist until he found  _Uptown Funk_  and tapped the screen to start the song. He slowly ran his foot onto the skateboard and skated through the street, ignoring the people around him because his spider-senses would tell him if there was any real chance of him colliding with a passerby.  

He glided through the streets and zoomed on the sidewalk while his ears relished the song. With his estimations, he’d make it on time with enough spare to check his hair in the reflection of a trophy case.  

To his surprise, he’d arrived earlier than expected and shrugged his shoulders when he saw the time of day on his phone. He decided to take the side entrance into the high school, walking past the lunch roundtables with his earphones still plugged in and now  _Want_ _To_ _Want Me_ blared in his ears as he walked. He was so into the song that he didn’t even notice Flash’s gang of friends follow behind with their leader and before he could do anything his foot was swept off the ground and he hit the ground hard. 

“Nice fall Parker!” Peter heard after his earphones fell out of his ears. He grunted to himself and push himself up, turning around to look at the guilty party. To no shock, Peter recognized that stupid, arrogant grin that belonged to none other than Flash Thompson. Great. Just what he needed after a day of crime-fighting. At first, Flash had eased up on Peter when his uncle had passed but over time Flash returned to his old ways and took leisure in bullying Peter. 

After brushing himself off Peter sighed and tried to walk away but another member of Flash’s group was quick to walk around and block his way. Carrying angry expressions, they all looked like they wanted to hurt Peter but none of them had even had a conversation with the teenager.  

“Flash...I don’t wanna do this. It’s our senior year and I would really appreciate if I could spend the last few months not worrying about which part of the school you’re going to push me on.” 

The bully didn’t appreciate that and shoved him into the boy standing behind him only to be pushed back forward. 

“Shut your mouth, Parker! Or I’m gonna beat it for you!” Flash threatened. Peter had heard every threat in the book from Flash so this was nothing new to him or even remotely interesting. Onlookers seemed to find it enticing and the crowd gathered, increasing in numbers as they all grew eager to see a fight (or even just Peter getting beaten up). 

“For me? Flash, not everybody punches themselves in the face during another roid-rage so I don’t need you to do that for me.” 

Maybe he’d show off just this once. It’d been so long since he’d managed to impress everybody and regain the dignity Flash strived to diminish. His peers ‘ooh’d’ and laughed around him at Flash’s expense. The second the ridicule began Flash saw red and grabbed Peter by a handful of his shirt and looked him in the eyes. 

“You wanna go, Parker?” 

Peter rolled his eyes and smiled at the bully. 

“Yes, Flash. I’ve been trying to do exactly that.” 

The teenager was ready to react but was shocked when a hard punch connected with his face. It didn’t knock him to the floor like it usually would but it definitely rocked him. Why didn’t he counter that? Maybe his spider-senses had slowed down because he hadn’t done this in a while. But then again, it was only this Saturday just passed that he’d dodged a blade pulled out in an alleyway fight. Stunned, Peter pressed the tip of his finger on his bottom lip to check for blood but there was none yet. 

Flash went for a sequel to his hit but Peter managed to block it with his forearm and pushed him back. At first, he was happy with the reaction but then he realized that it had been Peter who blocked it and not his spider-senses. This was all him. He tried to throw a punch but all he got in return for his efforts was a punch to the ribs and he winced, arching his waist in reaction and Flash connected his fist with Peter’s face again to push him down to the ground. 

“Come on Flash, lay off him. He’s had enough.” 

Peter knew exactly who it was without even leaving his position on the floor. Johnny Storm. The blonde boy was Peter’s best friend from a young age and despite their close friendship becoming more distant over the years, they still remained acquaintances with strained communication. Flash had tried to get Johnny in his group but Johnny was popular regardless of who he hung out with which is why he didn’t care if Peter Parker was seen talking to him. The reason why they became distant was that of a rumor that Johnny had felt pity for Peter the whole time and after that, the brown-haired boy didn’t know what to believe and who to trust. 

Regardless of all of that, Johnny still cared for Peter and tried to intervene. 

“Shut up Storm, or you’re next!” 

Johnny clenched his jaw and looked at Flash with a serious expression.  

“Are you sure you want to try it?” 

Peter was still on the floor and could only hear the conversation happening above him. A third voice joined in and this time it belonged to someone he didn’t recognize when hearing it.  

“Ugh...you guys and your toxic masculinity. ‘You wanna fight? Sure, I’ll fight!’ God, it’s the last year...” 

His tone told Peter that this was boring to him, but why would he put the effort in to break this up then?  

“What does it matter to you?” Flash asked the additional voice. Peter turned on his back and leaned forward to see what was happening and despite still being stunned he managed to make out the blurry third figure. 

“Well, I was taking a photo and you guys kinda started all of this.” 

Flash scoffed and looked at the boy while walking towards him. 

“You want to back off, camera boy. I’ve heard a lot about you-” 

“-Then say what you’ve heard or back...the hell...off.” 

Now the boy was speaking through gritted teeth and his fists were clenched.  

“I hate people like you, thinking because you’re athletic and popular, you can pick on everyone else-” 

“You got a problem with me, Watson?” Flash spat. 

“Flash, you can’t even solve a goddamn problem so don’t start one.” 

Flash seemed to be humiliated at the sentence but kept a mean face and huffed. 

“Whatever, weirdo. This isn’t it between us Parker, or you two!” Flash insisted. He left with his group and Peter watched Johnny give him a faint look before leaving as well. Everybody else made their way to their class and the last one standing was the photography boy. He handed Peter a bottle of water from his bag and smiled at him. 

“I gotta get to class, but try to get that checked out. Internal brain bleeding can be fatal, and it isn’t obvious.”  

Peter nodded, still dazed and accepted the water. 

“Thanks...” 

“Take care, Parker!” The boy said before departing. Now Peter was sat, slumped on the floor with barely any of his sense left. Confusion riddled his mind and he could not understand why his spider-senses had failed him.  

It was certainly different. 

 

* * *

 

 

When Peter got home, he decided to get in as quietly as he could. Before he could lie about his bruises and say it was a skating accident but with the severity of his injuries there was no lying. He crept in and to his surprise, the house looked empty. There was no sign of Aunt May and he looked around. No coat on the coat stand was present and her purse was not in sight either. Usually when she left there would be a note on the hallway wall. But no note. 

“Aunt May?”  

There was no response and it confused the boy. But right now, he was too battered to even care so he threw his bag on the floor and practically dragged himself up the stairs. The second he reached his bedroom he was ready to crash on the bed but instead widened his eyes at the sight of a man standing in his room with Peter’s suit in his hands. Then he realized who it was and became even more shocked. It was the billionaire, Tony Stark. 

“It’s a nice suit, kid.” 

The first thing that came into Peter’s mind was if he had been followed or tracked. Then it was if anybody else was capable of doing the same.  

“Don’t worry, the way I found you is much more complex than how other people would track you. You did a good job of making your routes so unpredictable nobody could track or spot you for more than three minutes. But if I didn’t have technology that could do that, well I’d be a bit disappointed in myself.” 

Peter was lost for words and opened his mouth to speak but no words left his mouth for ten seconds. 

“I-uh-you're, you’re Tony Stark!” Peter exclaimed excitedly. 

“Am I?” 

“What are you doing here? With my suit?” Peter asked, scratching his head. He didn’t want to seem like it wasn’t a big deal to have a genius billionaire like Tony Stark in his room but it certainly needed some form of explanation, especially when the man held his suit. 

“Well, I heard of a man jumping around New York dressed like a box of Domino’s pizza and I had to investigate when I heard he fights crime.” 

Peter first smiled at the use of the word ‘man’ but when he was compared to a pizza box he frowned and looked at Tony dumbfoundedly. 

“Am I in trouble?” 

Tony chuckled and put the suit down to the side. He reached to his left to pick up a briefcase Peter hadn’t even noticed and opened it in front of him. 

“Of course not, Peter. On the contrary, I just think if you’re going to battle crime, you should have the right tools. What I have here is Stark Industries approved, designed and created. If you want, we can test it out right now.” 

Peter could not believe what was happening but he didn’t hate it either. With an excited smile, he nodded and looked at Tony with eagerness. 

“Fine by me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like the direction this story is going in and hopefully, you do too. If you are excited let me know what you look forward to/would like to happen or etc.
> 
> I hate to be THAT writer who practically begs for feedback but it really helps me look out for any changes or ways to make the story and reading experience better for you. Of course, I'm more than grateful for any form of reception including hits so thank you for reading this chapter.


	3. Tony Stark

Excitement coursed through the teenager’s mind as he anticipated what would happen next. How on earth could he ever tell anybody about the day he met billionaire genius – as well as a technological idol to the boy – Tony Stark in his bedroom holding the suit he used to fight crime when he was not busy? He’d glanced around the room to ensure himself it was clean, or at least suitable to Tony’s standards, and there was nothing that concerned him with the exception of a few (okay about fifteen) skateboard bearings he enjoyed customizing. 

Peter was the first of the two to walk towards the door and Tony cleared his throat to stop the young man in his tracks. With that noise, Peter’s body swiveled and he furrowed an eyebrow in confusion of the older man’s reaction to his direction of the door. Tony, on the other hand, looked confused because of Peter’s initiative to go to the door. 

“Look, I’m Tony Stark. I think if we go through the front door, someone will tell your aunt.” 

Upon hearing that Peter understood where he was coming from. The neighbors were very fond of both Aunt May and Peter, so if they saw Peter leaving the house with an unidentified man older than him his aunt would more than likely catch wind of it and freak out. He proceeded to deliver a questioning expression to the man across him and crossed his arms. 

“So how exactly are we getting to the Stark Tower?”  

His face changed to display a sense of eagerness and Tony had to admire how excited he was to see the tower. Unfortunately for the boy, Tony had decided to make a change of plans regarding the Stark Tower and kept it as a business-only building in the upcoming months. With the Avengers all agreeing in favor of the new headquarters being built, there was no chance in hell Tony was going to bring a teenager to the premises, let alone train him there. He’d barely gotten his head around the girl called Wanda being allowed to join the Avengers at such a young age. 

“Sorry, kid. We’re not going to the Stark Tower but we are going somewhere much better...” He started. His head turned to face the window and when it returned to look at Peter again, he simply smirked with raised eyebrows, silently saying ‘Huh? Huh?’ with an impressed look on his face. Peter took no time in putting two and two together which dampened his eager smile and slightly disappointed him. “Oh, come on, don’t give me that look. You kids become superheroes and expect these big, fancy beginnings. Let me tell you something, Iron Man started in a cave. Do  _not_  even get me started on the photos I’ve seen of Captain America. Let’s go.” 

His rant formed a small smile from the boy and he agreed with Tony’s points. Regardless of wherever he tested the suit, it was made by Tony Stark and he was going to try it out in front of him. That was much more than could be said for other superheroes who took much longer to even garner notice from their heroic idols. 

With no disagreements in his mind, Peter nodded and watched Tony open the window. The entrepreneur passed him the briefcase containing his new suit and climbed out onto the fire escape. Peter approached the window to give him the briefcase back but he raised a single hand to deny the offer. 

“You know what? You carry it, either call it training or me not being bothered to carry it.” 

The brown-haired student shrugged his shoulders once Tony’s back was turned and followed him out of the window. They opted to go without conversation while climbing the ladders but in Peter’s head that only psyched him up more for his upcoming adventure. A few minutes passed and before they knew it, they finally reached the rooftop of the building and Peter glanced at the city in front of the two. 

Tony recognized his endearment of the city and smiled at him. It was good to see someone who cared about the world he lived in, someone who appreciated what he had. Nowadays, he would receive piles of emails begging for him to use his money on changes in the country – changes that did not even need to be made. Funding hover buses may have sounded fun, but it gave Tony a blank expression on his face that if anybody saw they would assume he was done with life.  

“It’s beautiful, right?” 

Peter agreed with a nod and backed away with his hands still firm on the Stark Industries briefcase. Tony continued to watch the city as it breathed life in the form of walking civilians, various splashes of colors from the cars in the traffic below and the glistening in windows from the sun’s reflection. The only people who found New York more beautiful than tourists were New Yorkers themselves. 

“Put the suit on.” 

Not much hesitation polluted Peter’s mind, after all, they were on a rooftop so it was unlikely anybody could see him getting changed, and Tony’s back remained facing Peter as he admired the city in sight. He crouched low to the ground into a squat position and opened the briefcase to see the brand-new suit. The inaugural feature he noticed was the lighter shades of red and blue the suit had been wrapped in. Despite that, they still followed the color scheme from his original suit. 

He was quick to remove the clothes he wore and practically slid into the new suit once he picked it up out of the briefcase. It was still baggy on him and he wondered if Mr. Stark had a preconceived notion of Peter being much more muscular prior to their meeting. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark? This suit’s kind of...loose.” 

Tony turned to return his focus on the boy and looked at the hanging logo in the middle of the suit, pointing to his own chest afterwards. 

“Press it, it’ll increase the compression of the suit.” 

With that instruction, Peter obliged and jumped as the suit tightened. No longer was the costume baggy, but instead it was a tight fit and he felt professional wearing it. The mask was an easy slip-on went over his head with no problem. He glanced at the button on his covered palm and pushed down on it with his middle and ring finger. Before he could utter  _‘woah’_  with great impression something flashed before his very eyes. Light blue with a tinge of green, the icons stood before his sight and the boy was more amazed than he was confused.  

“Mr. Stark...this-this is...” 

“Just the start. There are all sorts of upgrades the suit, try it out. Let’s pretend that wall is a bad guy, the HUD will show you about five hundred ways how to apprehend someone. There’s also a counter-attack feature that will predict how to not get punched in the face. The rest of the suit will unlock when you’ve completed a training program but all you need are the webs and HUD, right?” 

Peter’s mouth slowly cracked into a smile and he nodded, it didn’t matter to him if he had one or two features, at the end of the day he was still in possession of a suit from Tony Stark. With the holographic images flashing before his eyes he locked two hexagonal targets against the aged brick wall by the fire door. His wrists shot up rapidly one after the other, left first, then right, left, right. Four strings of web flew onto the wall and laid out as if it represented a criminal’s hands and feet stuck against the wall. 

“Woah! Did you-did you see the speed of that, Mr. Stark?” 

“I designed the speed of that, Mr. Parker,” Tony responded with an impressed chuckle. He was more than proud of the suit and by the looks of it he had made the correct choice of giving Peter the suit.  

The watch on Tony’s wrist beeped and Peter quickly spun his head to identify the voice that followed. 

 _‘Sir, Mr. Rogers is waiting for you in the Avengers Tower, he says it’s something about a potential lead on a HYDRA research base. Ms. Hill_ _insisted_   _you listen to what they found as well.’_   

The voice sounded British and Peter stared at the source of the noise around Tony’s wrist.  

His eyes rolled and the man was clearly frustrated with the timing. 

“Sorry, kid. Looks like I’ve got business to get to-” 

“-Can I join? I’m sure I can help,” Peter insisted. This was the perfect opportunity for him to prove himself to both Tony and the other Avengers, and to get to visit the Avengers Tower.  

“Absolutely not, defending Queens is one thing but HYDRA? Maybe in a year or two, but for now I need you in New York, watching over while we can’t.” 

“I get that, but-” 

“I know how it feels, Peter. It feels like people think you’re useless, or less important. I was the first man to be asked about the Avengers protocol, but they deemed me unfit to lead the team and I became the advisor. But look at me, I’m Iron Man. And right now, I may be deeming you better suited for New York but in a year’s time, you could be Spider-Man, working with us somewhere like Sokovia.” 

Hearing that made the teenager feel a lot better about the situation and his previously bowed head facing the ground rose to look at Tony with both eased, grateful eyes and a gentle smile that showed he was more than happy with what he heard. 

“Okay. I’ll watch over the city for you.” 

Tony patted his shoulder and nodded with a grin. 

“You see that? That’s responsibility, and that’s one of the most important things you’ll need if you do want to become an Avenger. You’re now my responsibility so I need to make sure you’re ready. I’ll talk to you later, Peter.” 

He extended his arm to shake Peter’s hand and pushed down on the watch on his wrist to warp the rest of his own suit, which was quick to activate and cover the rest of his body in shiny crimson armor. Flames flared from the hero’s boots and he shot up into the sky as Peter watched with awe. He’d only witnessed it once before in his life and the day that happened, he became a fan of Tony Stark forever. Then again, the man did save his life. 

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Peter walked into Midtown High he felt much more chipper than when he had left. With the suit under his clothing this time it almost felt as if it protected him from his powers failing him. Of course, he would not challenge Flash again to discover whether or not the theory was correct but he could still smile to himself whilst listening to his music.  

Tall, green trees stood before his sight as he walked through the side entrance of the building and this time the blonde-haired bully was nowhere to be seen. He was likely receiving tutoring from the Gwen Stacey girl Peter would notice during their biology lessons. She was an avid scientist in the making and had connections she insisted Peter used to get into the professional world of science, but Peter was far too busy saving New York from criminals. 

 _Everybody_  by the  _Backstreet Boys_  played into his ears and for a boy who had recently been beaten up in front of everybody, he looked very content with himself.  

Peter’s first lesson of the day was chemistry and Peter thanked the lords for that, his teacher Mr. Cobbwell usually just asked them knowledgeable questions about chemistry. He entered the classroom and found the seat towards the back more appealing, one row away from the final row and two towards the first. 

His eyes opened when he noticed Johnny walking into the classroom, considering Johnny usually skipped his lessons to prepare for the track team. Mr. Cobbwell and Coach Wilson did not seem to complain so it was not really flagged up. He still maintained his understanding and kept an impressive knowledge of the field in science. 

The blonde boy seemed happy to see Peter in a good state and even smiled, which Peter returned with half-smile and then another boy walked in. He was wearing a red, white and grey checkered shirt and also shared the burden Peter carried of looking a few years ahead of his age. His skin was smooth and bronzish brown, no signs of any imperfections to be seen. When he smiled at Peter, Peter instantly smiled back before even thinking about the fact that somebody he did not know was smiling at him. 

Before he could question anything, the boy sat in his seat in the second row to the left and Peter had a clear view of the back of his head, he for some reason did not question whether or not it was weird to stare. Mr. Cobbwell strolled into the room and began his lesson as the rest of the class prepared to learn.  

Around twenty minutes in, the chemistry teacher stood before the class and began to slowly walk through the class, sliding behind chairs and through the sides of the long desks by the walls.  

“Okay class...just a question. Do any of you know who Marie M. Daly was?” 

A few heads turned to look at the heads next to them, maybe to get an answer but most of the class were stumped. Of course, Peter knew and went to raise his hand but another student groaned and diverted Mr. Cobbwell’s attention. 

“Something bothering you, Mr. Whittmore?” 

The brown-haired boy in front of Peter sighed and crossed his arms. 

“No offense, Mr. Cobbwell, but whenever we have a class half of the time it’s learning about scientists that you think do not get enough recognition.” 

Mr. Cobbwell frowned at him and took his turn in crossing his arm, leaning against the desktops against the wall. 

“Why do I feel like you’re not adding something?” 

“Fine. Scientists who are either women or black. We don’t talk about Alfred Nobel or Dmitri Mendeleev...” 

The boy who had smiled at Peter scoffed at that sentence and shook his head, mumbling something that sounded like ‘racist ass...’ and the boy turned to him. 

“Oh, shut up, MJ. If someone says something even remotely about race-” 

“-you’re complaining about the fact the teacher talks about black scientists-” 

“-Yeah, because it’s every week-” 

“-Oh I’m sorry, should our history only get talked about during Black History Month?” 

The back and forth conversation sounded as if it was getting more heated and Mr. Cobbwell did not seem to be interested in breaking it up. Peter did hate what Jackson was saying, all scientists had incredible minds and discoveries but only a handful of them were discussed in classrooms. Mr. Cobbwell brought minds like Marie Curie and George Washington Carver up in the class and everybody appreciated it. 

But that was not just it. He recognized the voice of the angered boy, it was the one who had helped him before and called out Flash in front of everyone. The photographer.  

So, he took a risk. 

“MJ’s right. If you want to hear about a white scientist, you’ll probably find something without even trying, like on Google when it’s their birthday. Black-um, African-American scientists barely get talked about, and a majority of the female ones talked about are white. Even female scientists get overlooked.” 

After his speech, MJ turned to face him and give him an impressed smile. When he nodded Peter felt good and smiled to himself with a burning sensation in his cheeks making him nervous about whether or not he was acting like an idiot. Most people called Peter a nerd when he opened his mouth in class but science, especially chemistry, meant a lot to him. And it was good to not be shut down for once. 

Mr. Cobbwell shared the impressed expression on his face and looked at Peter with curiosity. 

“Well said, Mr. Parker. Would you care to answer the question I asked before?” 

Peter cleared his throat and placed his forearms on the oak desk, braiding his fingers together and shifting in his seat. 

“Um...sure. Marie M. Daly was a famous chemist, she was the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. I’m guessing you’re bringing her up because of the fact she made this inaugural accolade, as well as the fact she’s from here, Queens.” 

MJ turned around again and this time he had a grin on his face.  

“Very good, Peter.” 

Mr. Cobbwell proceeded to talk about the chemist and Peter did not even notice how much he began to zone out. He could not help but exchange looks with MJ and the two of them smiled at every chance they could get. Peter enjoyed the idea of making a new friend, someone with a shared opinion and love for science. 

Once the class ended everybody began to pack their things and Peter shifted up from his seat. He noticed MJ turn from his seat and the boy approached him which made Peter wonder how he was going to ask if they could be friends. Or maybe he should thank him for his help? He had not done this in a long time and kept himself to himself for a while, so he was more than out of touch. 

“Hey, Parker? You should use your voice more in class, you have some good opinions,” MJ smiled. Peter couldn’t disguise his appreciation and grinned as he lazily flung his bag over one shoulder. “Plus, I don’t think I could ever get bored of hearing you talk.” 

“Because of my  _good_  opinions?”  

“Nope, still the voice.” 

Peter didn’t know what to say and MJ patted him on the shoulder before leaving him to himself. He had no idea what that meant but it was exciting to think that someone found him cool. Despite being Spider-Man, MJ’s compliment was what pushed his confidence through the roof, and he wanted to feel that again.


End file.
